Skip to content

Call for stricter sentencing narrowly rejected

A motion that would have seen Thunder Bay's city council lobby for stricter judicial sentencing was rejected on a tie.
258178_634938044138303025
Coun. Aldo Ruberto pushed for the city to lobby for stricter sentencing in some cases. (File photo)

THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay’s city council rejected a call to lobby for stricter judicial sentencing by the narrowest of margins Monday, with a proposal from Coun. Aldo Ruberto failing on a tie vote.

“It’s frustrating to see violent criminals, gang members, human traffickers getting early release, reduced sentences, bail, plea bargaining – basically a slap on the wrist,” Ruberto told his colleagues.

A motion he put forward at Monday’s meeting would have seen the city advocate to the provincial and federal government for a "national and provincial review of judicial sentencing relating to violent crimes, major drug distribution and gang association.”

Several of Ruberto’s colleagues raised strong objections to the proposal, arguing it went beyond the city’s purview and ran counter to restorative justice approaches supported by the community.

It's not the first time a proposal from the at-large councillor has revealed divisions on council over how to approach crime and justice issues.

Coun. Cody Fraser, who is a newly practicing lawyer, said he could appreciate the spirit of Ruberto’s motion but not its substance.

“There’s a great deal of work going into sentencing reform over the past decade or so,” he said. “Most of that is going toward alternative modes of sentencing, less incarceration, more rehabilitation outside of jail. I think this kind of flies in the face of that.”

Councillors including Albert Aiello and Peng You argued a clear distinction could be made for the “violent crimes, major drug distribution, and gang association” targeted by Ruberto’s motion, saying they went beyond what was appropriate for restorative justice.

“These are severe crimes, and Councillor Ruberto’s right – they get out on bail, and the cycle just continues,” said Aiello.

Coun. Brian Hamilton said he simply didn’t have enough information based on a one-paragraph memo and two-paragraph motion.

“I get there’s a strong frustration with what’s going on in our streets,” he said. “[But] we’re kind of getting out of our lane a bit… If this was coming from [the crime prevention council] or [inter-governmental affairs committee], it might carry a little more weight for me.”

With Coun. Trevor Giertuga temporarily absent from the virtual meeting, Ruberto’s motion failed on a 6-6 tie.

Councillors Aiello, Hamilton, McKinnon, Ruberto, Peng, and Mayor Bill Mauro voted in favour. Councillors Bentz, Ch’ng, Foulds, Fraser, Johnson, and Oliver voted against.



Ian Kaufman

About the Author: Ian Kaufman

Read more


Comments

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks